Grinding apparatus



Jan. 25, 1944. A. E. HAMILTON 2,340,121

I GRINDING APPARATUS Filed 001:; 7, 1942 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 25, 1944.A. E. HAMILTON GRINDING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 7, 1942 7 Sheets-Sheet 2gINVIEB'ITOR A44. M

Jan. 25, 1944.

A. HAMILTON 2,340,121 GRINDING APPARATUS Filed 091:. 7. 1942 7Sheets-Sheet 3 nvsn'roa Jan. 25, 1944. A. E. HAMILTON GRINDING APPARATUS7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 7, 1942 INVEN'I'OR 1 Jam. 25, 1944. A. E.HAMILTON GRINDING APPARATUS 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 7, 1942 Jan. 25,1944.

GRINDING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 7, 1942 7 Sheets-Sheet e A. E. HAMILTON I2,340,121

Patented Jan. 25, 1944 UNITED STATES ?ATENT OFFICE GRINDING APPARATUSAlfred E. Hamilton, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application October 7, 1942, Serial No. 461,121

11 Claims.

My invention relates to the art of surfacing by abrasion and polishing,and particularly to the surfacing of sheets and strips. The invention isuseful not only in the surfacing of metal, but also the grinding andpolishing of other materials, including sheets of the transparentplastic type that may be used as substitutes for glass sheets or plates.I

One object of my invention is to provide surfacing apparatus of suchform that a billy roll or other element that supports the work against asurfacing roll will automatically be moved toward and from operativeposition by traveling movement of the work piece.

- Another object of my invention is to provide an improved manner ofmounting the billy roll and adjusting it with respect to the surfacingroll, with a desired variation in eiiective'resistance which it mayoffer to the grinding pressures such as result in the use of a yieldableor pneumatic surfacing roll.

Another object of my invention is to provide polishing apparatus of suchform that the surfacing elements will not have to be changed or adjustedeach time that a change is made in the gage or thickness of the workwhich is to besur-' faced.

A further object of my invention is to providesurfacing apparatuswherein abrasive sleeves'c'an be applied to and removed from theirrolls, with out the necessity of removing the rolls fromthe machine. 7

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of a surfacingmachine; Fig. 2'is an end view thereof, but with the splash shield shownin section; Fig. 3 is an enlarged detailed view of a" portion of theapparatus of Fig. 1', partly in section; Fig. 3a is a modification of aportion of the apparatus of Fig. 3; Fig. 4 is a perspective Viewschematically showing the arrangement of certain of the parts of theapparatus; Fig. 5 is an enlarged View showing the surfacing roll of theother figures partly in section; Fig. 6 is a view showing the manner inwhich an abrasive sleevecan be slid to or removed from the surfacing"roll without dismounting the roll from the machine frame; Fig. 7 is aview showing amodification of the billy roll of the other figures; Fig.8 is a-side' view showing the manner in which guide fingersarepositioned between the surfacing roll or drum and Fig. 9-is aplan viewof the fingers.

and upon a base frame In. ed within the frame and has a beltdrive-conand pinch rollers for advancing sheet material tiOri' Ser. No.380,442, filed Feb. 25, 1941.

motion 12' With the shift [3 Of a suffalcihg rolr' M. This roll may beof any well-known form; but is here shown (Fig. 5) as comprising a hubportion secured to the shaft [3' and carrying? a. pneumatic drum is, anabrasive sleeve [1 stir:

5 permit exhaust of excess pressure that is developed through heat ofgrinding or otherwise, as exp ained in my said application.

' Upper and lower" bearin elements 24 arid 251' res ectiv'e1y; of theradial self-aligningtype, areprov'ided for each end of'the shaft [3,these bearing elements beingd'etachably connected together by eye bolts26.

Each of the bearing members 25 is' supported. upon a pair'of pinch roll'housin'gs'orsupporting f'ram'es28', therebei'ng two of thesehousing-merit: be'rs at each side of the machine and mounted uponthebase frame It.

For" the purpose of wet grinding operaubns; aswhere it is desired to"preventoverheating or" the drum and the material being suffacedl ro videa' hood or shield 30 which ispivota'lly mount; ed at 3! upon suitablebracket members carried by the housing 28 at one end of the machine;

This hood has slots 32 formed inthe end plates; so that the lower edgesof the end plates or'walls can be'moved to a plane below theshaft I31The? shield has a spray'pipe 33 secured therein by hookf boltst l andextending throughout the length of the shield; Water is supplied toth'e'spray pipe 33for discharge against the drum; from any suit-' ablesource, through a pipe 35. f 1' The roll shaft It is extended at one'endas shown in Fig. 2, this extended portion projecting" through a post 36that serves also as a bracket for the pressure regulator t9. .Abearingblock'fl is vertically slidableinthe post 36and rests up'on' theshaft 83-. A screw 38"has threaded engage:- ment with the upper portion"of the post 36" and thrust engagement with-theblock 31. This" screw" isoperated" Whenever it is" desired to changethe" roll or replaces; wornabrasive-sleeve withanew] sleeve. To this end, eye bolts 39 (Fig. 1)when" hold the bearing member 25 at the opposite end of the machineuponits seat on the pinch-r611 "housing 28, areloosened and clearof" thebearing member 25. Thereupon, the hand wheel of the screw 38 is turnedto tilt the adjacent end of the shaft I3 downwardly (Fig. 6) and therebyeffect raising of the opposite end of the shaft and the bearing member25. The pipe connections to the shaft will, of course, be flexible topermit this movement. Thereupon the pressure in the pneumatic drum ISwill be reduced to permit sliding of the sleeve therefrom past thebearing memer 25 and upon replacement by a new abrasive sleeve, thescrew 38 can be turned to restore the shaft [3 and the roll to operativeposition. This arrangement avoids the necessity for removing the rollfrom the stand when changing abrasive sleeves.

A pair of pinch rolls 49, 4|, shown more clearly in Fig. 4, are mountedin the housings 28 at the entrance end of the machine and a pair ofpinch rolls 42,43 are mounted in the housings 28 at the rear end of themachine. A second pair of rolls 45 are mounted at the entrance end ofthe machine, and these rolls may simply idle to serve as guide rolls, ormay be driven. The housing members 28 at the discharge end of themachine are formed at 49 -to support other pinch or guide rolls, or totemporarily support an element (not shown) for grinding an out-of-roundpneumatic drum to true cylindrical form.

The upper pinch rolls 4| and 43 are held in engagement with the lowerpinch rolls by weighted levers 41 upon which weights 48 are adjustablymounted. The levers 41 are pivoted to ears on the housings 28 and havetheir lower edges lying within upstanding bifurcated studs 49 that attheir lower ends engage with curved blocks 50 that rest upon the shaftsof the rolls 4 I1 and 43 (Fig. l) The bearings for these upper pinchrolls have slight vertical movement in the housings 28 to permit thepinch rolls to adapt themselves to sheets or strips of variousthicknesses and to be held in snug driving engagement therewith by theweights 48.

A motor 52 (Figs. 2 and 4) is provided for driving the pinch rolls. Themotor operates through reduction gearing at 53 to drive a sprocket chain54 that passes around a sprocket 55 on the shaft 56 of the pinch roll49. The shaft 56 at its other end has a sprocket wheel 51 that througha. chain 58"drives a sprocket wheel 59 on the shaft 600i the. pinchroll'42. The shaft 59 carries a gear wheel 6| that meshes with a gearwheel 62 on the shaft of the pinch roll 4|. Similarly, a. gear wheel 63on the shaft 99 drives the pinch roll 43 through a gear wheel 64.

. A billy roll 66 is provided for supporting the sheet or strip material61 against the grinding pressures of the surfacing roll Hi. This rollhas a shaft 68 that is supported at its ends in bearings 69. Thesebearings 99 are supported on a channel-like rail II that extendscrosswise of the machine and is vertically slidable between the adjacentends of the pinch roll housings 28, so that'as the rail H is moved upand down, the bearings 69 and the billy roll 66 will likewise be moved.The bearings 69 are connected to blocks 12 (Fig. 3) which are secured tothe rail I l and are'detachably connected thereto by screws or dowelsthat extend through holes indicated at 13 (Fig. 3) so that the bearings69 and the billy roll carried thereby are detachably mounted forconvenient removal from the machine, by sliding it endwise.

, The cross rail H is supported at each end upon a nut 14 that has screwthreadedengagement with a rod 15, the nuts 14 being adjustable so thatthe ends of the billy roll 69 can be adjusted relative to the surfacingroll. Cushioning springs 16 are interposed between the nuts 14 and aspring seat Ti that is supported on the lower framework H], the springsnormally being of insufficient strength to hold the billy roll in itsfully elevated position. The lower ends of the rods 15 are pivotallyconnected to crank arms 13 near the ends of a rock shaft 19 that issupported upon bearing hangers which are supported from flanges on thebase frame ID.

The shaft 19 is provided with a crank arm 8| by means of which it isoscillated in order to raise and lower the rod 15 and hence the billyroll 66. A piston rod 82 has an adjustably threaded connection 83 withthe crank arm 8|, the rod being connected to a piston 84 within acylinder 85, Air pressure for operating the piston is supplied from asuitable source through a pressure line 86 that leads into a valvecasing 81. The valve casing has an inlet port 89 and an exhaust port 89and ports 99 and 9|, which lead to the upper and lower ends of thecylinder 85. A rotary valve is contained within the valve casing and hasports 92 and 93.

In the position shown in Fig. 3, air pressure is being supplied from theline 96, past ports 88, 93 and 9|, and through a pipe 94 to theunderside of the piston, to raise the same. Exhaust, at this time,occurs through the ports 99, 92 and 89. The billy roll 66 is thereforeheld in its raised position to support a piece of work against surfacingpressure. An adjusting screw 95 is positioned to be engaged by the crankarm 8! and thereby limit the extent to which the billy roll can be movedagainst the surfacing roll. In case a. pneumatic or other form ofyieldable surfacing roll is used, the extent to which the billy roll israised will determine the width of surfacing area in directions axiallyof the roll, since it will cause compression of the surfacing roll to agreater or less extent. The actual grinding pressure, however, willdepend largely upon the degree of yieldability of or the air pressure inthe surfacing roll. In the case of surfacing rolls which are relativelyrigid, the height to which the billy roll is raised will largelydetermine the amount of grinding pressure.

When a sheet or strip has passed completely through the machine, thebilly roll will be lowered, so that it will have no direct engagementwith the surfacing roll, therefore protecting both the surfacingmaterial from unnecessary wear or damage and also preventing the billyroll being roughened by the abrasive on the surfacing roll. The loweringof the billy roll is efiected automatically by so reversing the positionof the valve 81 that the valve port 42 will be brought into registrywith the ports 88 and and the valve port 93 brought into registry withthe ports 89 and 9|, in which case pressure will flow from the line 86through the valve and a pipe 91 to the upper side of the piston 84,while exhaust from the piston will occur through the pipe 94, and theports 9|, 93 and 89. 7 7

The operation of thevalve 8! is automatically effected by a pull rod 98that is connected to the rotary element of the valve, and a lever 99.The lever 99 is pivotally mounted to a fixed support at I90 and isyieldably held in its raised position by a compression spring I0 I, sothat when a sheet approaches the surfacing roll, the lever will bedepressed, thus rocking the valve to the position shown in Fig. 3 andcausing the billy roll to be raised. The ports and the cylinder,.85 areof suchjrelative size that the hilly roll will be raisedv to itsuppermost position at about the instant the leading edge of the sheetenters the pass between the surfacing roll and the billy roll. On theother hand, as the trailing edge of the sheet or strip leaves the lever99, the spring liil will raise the lever to its dotted line position, sothat at about the instant the trailing edge of the sheet is leaving theroll pass, the hilly roll will :be lowered. The billy roll and the crossrail II; will move down under their own weight when the crank arm Bl islowered, the springs serving to cushion such downward movement.

The air pressure beneath the piston 84, of course, yieldably holds. thebilly roll in work-supporting position. The degree of this yieldabilitywill :be controlled by the air pressure in the pipe 86. The pipe 86 maysuitably be connected to the line [8 through a pressure regulator 96 orat; some point between the pressure regulator l9 and, the, shaft i3.There will thus be automatic r gu ation of grinding pressure in additionto the automatic control of pressure in the pneumatic drum It. Thissecondary automatic control of grinding pressure will be particularlyuseful where the surfacing roll is not of the pneumatic type.

Fig. 3a shows a modified form of device for automatically effectingmovement of the billy roll 66. toward and from its operative position.In this case a solenoid coil I02 is substituted for the pneumaticcylinder 85. It will be seen that as a. sheet or strip approaches theroll pass, the lever 99 will be actuated to close a switch I04, thuscompleting a circuit from an electric power line I85 through thesolenoid coil. core I03 will then be drawn upwardly to efiect upwardmovement of the crank arm 8i and the billy roll. a

In Fig. 7 I show a billy roll whose working area indirections axially ofthe roll can be changed to suit sheets of different widths. Since thesurfacing roll I4 is yieldable, it will be seen that when working onsheets that are quite thin and which are of narrow width relative to thelength of the billy roll, the abrasive material would often engage thesurface of the billy roll adjacent to the edges of the sheet, thus notonly tending to wear the billy roll, but roughening it so that it wouldbe unsuitable for use in connection with subsequent operations on widerstrips of the softer materials such as sheets of thermo-plasticmaterial. Therefore, I mount upon the roll shaft l! a series of sleevesI08 and 159 of different widths, these sleeves being changed to producedesired effective lengths of billy roll surface. The sleeves 18-409 areheld in place by spacing collars or washers H0 and nuts II I that havescrew-threaded connection with the shaft IE1. The billy roll can readilybe changed in effective length by removing the pins at 13 and slidingthe roll and its bearings out of the machine, as heretofore explained.

It will be understood that the surfacing roll and the sheets 6'! can bemoved at any desired speeds. In Fig. 3, these members are shown asmoving in the same direction at the surfacing zone. The surfacing rollcan, of course, be driven counter to the work, but when moved as shownin the drawing, there will be less danger of the loose abraded materialinterfering with the proper functioning of the apparatus, since theloose particles will be immediately carried away instead of accumulatingat the entrance to the roll pass. Where, at the zone of surfacing, theroll is driven The in the same direction as the work piece moves, itwill, of course, be rotated rapidly relative to the rate at which thesheets move.

Figs. 8 and 9 show guide fingers li -i and I I5 mounted between thepinch rolls i2. 33, and the grinding roll. These guide fingers arecarried by bars lit and II? respectively that extend crosswise of themachine and are bolted at their ends to the supporting frames. 28, bybolts H8.

The guide fingers are particularly useful in the surfacing of thin sheetmaterial, since when the rear end of a sheet leaves the pinchrclls iiiil, at the entrance end of the machine, the rotation of the surfacingroll it in the same direction as the strip movement, as indicated by thearrows in Fig. 3, will tend to push the strip ahead rapid-. ly and bulgeor bow it up between the surfacing roll and the pinch rolls i2d3. Thiswould not only result in damage to the sheet, but there would be noproper surfacing action on the rear-v portion thereof.Similarly-arranged guide fingers can be positioned between the pinchrolls. 42 and the surfacing roll to insure proper guiding of the stripsor sheets relative to the roll pass.

I claim as my invention:

1. Grinding apparatus comprising a roll having a sleeve of surfacingmaterial, a shaft for they roll, bearings for the shaft, supports forthe bear-v ings, and meansv adjacent to one end of the roll for tiltingit on one of said supports as a fulcrum, to thereby lift the bearing atthe other end of the roll relative to the adjacent support, whereby thesaid sleeve can be slid axially from the roll.

2. Grinding apparatus comprising a roll having;

a sleeve of surfacing material, ashai't for the roll,

bearings for the shaft, adjacent to the ends of the roll, supports forthe bearings, the-shaft ex-- tending axially beyond its hearing at oneend of I the. roll, and means for engaging the extended portion of theshaft to tilt it on the adjacent support as a fulcrum, to thereby movethe opposite end of the shaft away from its support, whereby the sleevecan be slid axially from the roll.

3. Grinding apparatus comprising a roll having a sleeve of surfacingmaterial, a shaft for the. roll, bearings for the shaft, adjacent to theends of the roll, supports for the bearings, the shaft ex-,

tending axially beyond its bearing at one end of;

the. roll, a bracket at the extended portion of the shaft, and a screwon the bracket, positionedv to" engage the said shaft portion, fortilting the shaft on the adjacent support as a fulcrum, to thereby movethe opposite end of the shaft away from its support, whereby the sleevecan be slid axially from the roll. a

4. Grinding apparatus comprising a roll having a sleeve of surfacingmaterial, a shaft for the roll, bearings for the shaft, adjacent to theends of the roll, supports for the bearings, the shaft extending axiallybeyond its bearing at one end of the roll, a driving pulley or the likeon the extended portion of the shaft, and a device adjacent to thepulley, for engaging the extended portion of the shaft to tilt it on theadjacent support as a V fulcrum, to thereby move the opposite end of theshaft away from its support, whereby the sleeve can be slid axially fromthe roll.

5. Grinding apparatus comprising a frame, a surfacing roll journaled onthe frame, a billy roll cooperating with the surfacing roll, bearingsfor the billy roll, a vertically-movable support for said bearings, andmeans for detachably connecting the hearings to said support, thebearings and the billy roll being removable as a unit from the frameupon disengagement of the connecting means.

6. Grinding apparatus comprising a frame, a surfacing roll journaled onthe frame, a billy roll cooperating with the surfacing roll, a cross barmounted for vertical movement in the frame and extending parallel to thesaid rolls, a bearing for the billy roll at each end of the cross bar,and means for detachably connecting the hearings to the cross bar, thebearings being slidably longitudinally of the said bar, for removal ofthe roll and its bearings when they are disconnected from the bar.

7. Grinding apparatus comprising a frame, a surfacing roll journaled onthe frame, a billy roll cooperating with the surfacing roll, bearingsfor the ends of the billy roll, guideways in the frame slidablysupporting the said bearings, for vertical movements, spring seatsbeneath said bearings and movable vertically therewith, fixed springseats on the frame, cushioning springs interposed between the movableand the fixed spring seats, a rock shaft journaled in the frame, belowthe fixed spring seats and having a pair of crank-like extensions, aconnection between each of the extensions and one of the first-namedspring seats, for moving the billy roll through oscillation of saidshaft, and means for rocking the said shaft to raise and lower the billyroll.

8. Grinding apparatus comprising a frame, a surfacing roll journaled onthe frame, a billy roll cooperating with the surfacing roll, bearingsfor the ends of the billy roll, guideways in the frame slidablysupporting the said bearings. for vertical movements, spring seatsbeneath said bearings and movable vertically therewith, fixed springseats on the frame, cushioning springs interposed between the movableand the fixed spring seats, a rock shaft journaled in the frame, belowthe fixed spring seats and having a pair of cran -like extensions, 2.connection between each of the extensions and one of the first namedspring seats, for moving the billy roll through oscillation of saidshaft, and an adjustable stop device for positively limiting movement ofthe last named meansin a roll-raising direction.

- 9. Grinding apparatus comprising a frame, a surfacing roll journaledon the frame, a billy roll cooperating with the surfacing roll, bearings for the ends of the billy roll, guide ways in the frame slidablysupporting the said bearings, for vertical movements, spring seatsbeneath said bearings and movable vertically therewith, fixed springseats on the frame, cushioning springs interposed between the movableand the fixed spring seats, a rock shaft journaled in the frame, belowthe fixed spring seats and having a pair of crank-like extensions, aconnection between each of the extensions and one of the first namedspring seats, for moving thebilly roll through oscillation of saidshaft, and means for vertically adjusting each of the first named springseats relative to its cooperating fixed spring seat.

Ill-Grinding apparatus comprising a frame, a surfacing roll journaled'onthe frame a billy,- roll cooperating with the surfacing roll, bearingsfor the ends of the billy roll, guideways in the frame slidablysupporting the said bearings, for vertical movements, spring seatsbeneath said bearings and movable vertically therewith,

fixed spring seats on the frame, cushioningroll through oscillation ofsaid shaft, and meansactuated through movement of work material to andfrom the pass between said rolls, to lower and raise the billy roll.

11. Grinding apparatus comprising a frame, a surfacing roll journaled onthe frame a billy roll cooperating with the surfacing roll, bearings forthe ends of the billy roll, guideways in the frame slidably supportingthe said bearings, for vertical movements, a rock shaft journaled in theframe below the bearings and having apair of crank-like extensions,lifting members supporting the bearings on the extensions;

means for vertically adjusting the planes of engagement between thebearings and said members, adjustable means positively limiting upwardmovement of each of said members, and

yieldable operating means for rocking the shaftin a direction to raisethe billy roll bearings.

ALFRED E. HAMILTON.

